The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Domestic or residential refrigerators may be provided with a variety of door configurations depending on the size of the refrigerator, interior volume requirements and the consumer desires. One such configuration is a refrigerator having a side-by-side door with a freezer compartment on one side, a refrigerator compartment on the other side and a center mullion separating the compartments against which the side-by-side close and seal. In another configuration, the refrigerator may have a freezer compartment located above or below the refrigerated compartment with a pair of side-by-side doors. In this configuration, the vertical mullion is eliminated to increase the storage volume within the refrigerated compartment and to enhance accessibility thereto.
In the latter style refrigerators, it is necessary to provide a seal assembly between the facing surfaces of the door when the doors are in the closed position. More specifically, a seal assembly is provided along each medial vertical edge of the refrigerator door. Each seal assembly carries a compressible gasket which extends along the side face of each door and engages the compressible gasket carried on the opposite door when the doors are in a closed position. It is well known in the art to utilize magnets within these gaskets, and more specifically oppositely poled magnets beneath the sealing surfaces of the opposing gaskets to attract one another for developing a tight seal when the doors are aligned in a side-by-side closed position. While a seal assembly of this configuration may provide adequate sealing, there may exist a “scrubbing” problem in which movement of one door relative to the other causes the associated gasket to scrub along the entire vertical length of the opposing gasket. Gasket scrubbing can significantly reduce the longevity of the door seal integrity between the adjacent doors, thereby compromising the door seal. Furthermore, gasket scrubbing can reduce the perceived quality of the refrigerator by impeding smooth opening and closing the doors.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved seal assembly for use in a side-by-side or French door style refrigerator that reduces or eliminates gasket scrubbing along the medial vertical length of the door, while maintaining adequate seal theretween when the doors are in a closed position.